


The Pink Lipstick

by sevarix



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Gen, M/M, Short & Sweet, Silly, dorothea and mercie being friends, seriously it's really silly, yurileth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:15:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26827216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sevarix/pseuds/sevarix
Summary: Dorothea never thought Byleth had feelings for anyone, until she heard a rumor about a smudge of lipstick found on his cheek. With the help of Mercedes, she is determined to figure out who the wearer of the lipstick is.
Relationships: Yuris Leclair | Yuri Leclerc/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 6
Kudos: 121





	The Pink Lipstick

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place post war, any route really.

Now that the war was over, Dorothea felt free.

No more fighting. No more dying.

Of course, there was still a lot to do. She had volunteered to stay at the monastery to help out however she could. There were people who needed healing, meals to be made, and people to comfort with her singing. It wasn’t always easy, but it sure beat fighting.

Some of the others had stayed behind as well, simply because they were loyal to Byleth. He was the new archbishop now, although Dorothea could tell he wasn’t too pleased with the role. It wouldn’t surprise her if he turned it over to Seteth eventually.

But for now, all she cared about was not fighting.

She was on her way to the greenhouse to collect some herbs when she ran into Mercedes.

“Oh, hello there Dorothea,” Mercedes said with a smile. Dorothea didn’t know how she did it, but somehow she always seemed so cheerful.

“Hey, Mercie. Are you helping out here today?”

“Well, no, I was actually looking for you.” She smiled, trying to hold back a laugh. “I saw something today that I just have to tell you.”

Dorothea smiled. Gossip had become a hobby between them. It always just harmless stuff, but after the war, it was much needed. “What do you have for me this time, Mercie?”

She leaned in and lowered her voice. “I saw Byleth just now.”

“Oh, now I’m intrigued,” Dorothea responded.

Mercedes giggled. “He had something on his cheek. When I looked closer, I noticed it looked like lipstick.”

Dorothea laughed. “Someone has kissed our dear professor on the cheek?”

“I wonder who it was,” Mercedes asked conspiratorially.

“I’m sure we can find out,” Dorothea replied with a smirk. During his entire time at the academy and throughout the war, Byleth had not shown any kind of romantic interest toward anyone. So the fact that he let someone even get close enough to kiss him on the cheek was huge news for Dorothea. “What color was it?”

“It was a light shade of pink,” Mercedes said, nodding.

“All right then,” Dorothea replied. “I guess we’ll have to find out who around here wears pink lipstick.”

* * *

A few days passed, and Dorothea only occasionally thought of the lipstick incident Mercie had told her about. She couldn’t think of anyone off the top of her head who was still at the monastery. Ingrid never wore makeup, so she was out. Annette was a possibility, although Dorothea hadn’t seen her recently.

She almost let herself forget about it, until she saw Byleth a few days later.

It was evening, and she had been returning to her room after cleaning up the kitchen. The sun had set, but a few lanterns around the monastery still offered a bit of light. But even the dim light couldn’t hide what she saw.

Byleth was steps away from returning to his room when she saw it. Another lipstick mark, light pink. But this time, it was near his mouth.

Dorothea could only stare for a moment. Then she moved toward him.

“Good evening, professor,” she said cheerfully.

He turned slightly, clearly surprised by her presence. “Oh, hello Dorothea.”

She tilted her head. “Oh? It looks like there’s something on your face, professor. That’s a bit odd.”

Byleth’s face immediately turned crimson. “I need to go,” he said, and then swiftly returned to his room.

Dorothea lingered a moment, and then went directly to Mercie’s room. Fortunately, it wasn’t too far.

“Mercie, I _need_ to tell you what I just saw,” Dorothea said when she arrived.

“Oh? Is this about…” she lowered her voice. “The professor?”

Dorothea closed the door behind her. “Oh yes. It certainly is.”

She smiled excitedly. “Oh, oh do tell!”

“I just saw him go back to his room. And it was there on his face again!”

Mercie gasped. “The pink lipstick?”

“Yes! But this time… this time it was near his mouth.”

Mercie giggled. “Oh dear! I never would have thought our professor could have feelings for someone like that.”

“Oh but it gets better. I said hi to him, and mentioned casually that he had something on his face.”

“You did?!”

“His face turned so red,” Dorothea said, trying not to laugh. “He was so embarrassed, he rushed back into his room.”

“Aww, I wonder who it is!”

“Well, let’s think about this. It’s certainly not Ingrid. Marianne definitely has something with Ashe, so I think we can rule her out. What about Annette?”

Mercie nodded with consideration. “Maybe, although I haven’t heard her talk about him much.”

“There’s also Manuela,” Dorothea suggested. “She has a large lipstick collection, so it’s a possibility.”

Mercie smiled. “How about I ask Annie, and you ask Manuela?”

“Great idea, Mercie.”

* * *

Dorothea never needed a reason to visit her old mentor, in fact, she wished she could visit more often. The fact that she had this silly gossip to share made it even better.

She found the older woman in her room. Given that it was late morning, it was likely she had just gotten ready for the day. Dorothea took particular note of her makeup, but it appeared today she was wearing red lipstick.

Manuela smiled as she approached. “Dorothea! It’s always good to see you. I’ve heard you’ve been singing around the monastery.”

“Good to see you too, Manuela. And yes, it’s difficult to _not_ sing these days.”

Manuela gave her a playful wink. “Always gaining admirers wherever you go.”

Dorothea laughed. “Speaking of admirers, I actually wanted to ask you something.”

“Oh?”

“Are you and Byleth…”

Manuela started laughing before Dorothea could even finish. “Oh sweetie, I haven’t had time for men since before the war. And I don’t think Byleth has ever been interested in me. Or anyone, for that matter.”

Dorothea laughed in return. “I had a feeling that might be the case. I just heard some silly gossip, that’s all.”

“Gossip about Byleth? I don’t think that man even knows what romance is.”

Dorothea smirked, and told her about the pink lipstick.

Manuela looked at her with amazement. “Really, now? And here I thought he didn’t have it in him. Well, I can certainly see why you’re intrigued.”

“If only we could figure out who it is.”

“Well, you know there’s that underground guy who seems to know everything. If no one else knows, he might.”

“Oh, you mean Yuri?”

“Yeah, that one. Although maybe silly romances aren’t really the type of information he has.” She shrugged. “You never know.”

Dorothea nodded. Perhaps it was time for a trip to Abyss.

* * *

It was a few hours later when Dorothea met back up with Mercie. She wasted no time telling her of what Manuela had said.

“It’s not Annie either,” Mercedes said, after listening.

“Maybe we should pay a visit to Yurikins,” Dorothea suggested.

Mercedes smiled. “I suppose it can’t hurt.”

Dorothea had only been to Abyss a few times, and each time it saddened her a bit. To see all of the people forced to live down there weighed on her, although she figured it was better than living on the streets of Enbarr. Yuri certainly made their lives a bit better.

“Hey, Dorothea,” Mercie said as they moved through the tunnels. “Doesn’t Yuri wear makeup?”

Dorothea froze, turning to her friend. “Does he… does he wear lipstick? Oh Goddess, could it really be him?”

Mercie giggled. “I guess we’ll find out soon.”

They turned into a makeshift meeting room that had once been some kind of classroom. Yuri had his back turned to them, looking down at some papers.

“Hey there, Yurikins,” Dorothea said.

He turned around. “Oh, hey ladybird. And you too, Mercie. What brings you two all the way down here?”

“Oh, we just wanted to ask you something,” Mercie said, her smile beaming.

Yuri looked warily. “Sure. What’s going on?”

Dorothea took a step closer to him, inspecting his face. It was faint in the dim lighting of Abyss, but she saw it. His lips were tinted light pink. The same exact color she had seen on Byleth. “I must say, Yurikins, your makeup skills are impressive.”

Yuri took a step away from her. “Um, thanks. Did you really come down here to talk about makeup?”

Mercedes giggled. “Dorothea, I think it’s him.”

“Oh it certainly is.”

Yuri took another step away from them. “W-what are you talking about?”

Dorothea winked at him. “We know all about you and Byleth.”

Yuri was speechless, and his face immediately turned red.

Dorothea laughed. “So, how long has it been going on?”

Yuri blinked at her. “I-I well, that’s… that’s very personal.”

Dorothea continued to laugh. “I’ve never seen you so flustered, Yurikins!”

He sighed. “Fine. If you must know, we’re… engaged.”

Mercedes gasped. “Engaged?!”

“Yeah. You got a problem with that?”

“Of course not!” Dorothea assured him. “We’re happy for you, Yurikins.”

“Can we help plan the wedding?” Mercedes asked excitedly. “Oh, I can make you a wedding cake!”

Yuri looked increasingly uncomfortable. “No need to get so exci--”

“Yuri?”

Dorothea turned, finding Byleth had entered the room, glancing to the two women with confusion.

“Dorothea? Mercie? What are you doing here?”

“They know, By,” Yuri said. “About us.”

Byleth’s eyes widened with surprise. “R-really?”

“It’s all right, professor,” Dorothea replied. “We’ll keep it a secret if you want.”

Byleth took hold of Yuri’s hand and smiled. It was a strange sight; Dorothea could not remember the last time she had seen her old professor smile. “No, it’s fine. I don’t mind if people know.”

Yuri looked at him seriously. “You sure? Even considering... my reputation?”

“Yeah,” Byleth said, “It doesn’t bother me.”

Yuri smiled. “Thanks, By.” Then he kissed Byleth on the cheek, leaving behind a smudge of pink lipstick.

Dorothea smiled at the sight of it.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading my silly fic lol


End file.
